Back Home to Stay
by MusicalLife17
Summary: Updated version. After 6 years, Troy's cousin comes home at last. How have things changed? Will past feelings return, or stay forgotten? What will senior year have in store for the Wildcats now that everyone's together again?
1. Jules comes home

**A/N: Hey All! Okay, so here's the first chapter of Back Home to Stay, reposed. It's sort of the same as the first few chapters, only meshed together and with added info.**

**Before I keep going with this story, there are a few things that need to be sorted out. **

**First, should this story stay with its K+/T rating? In other words, should the story remain with its 'Disney' background, or should the characters be like typical teenagers? Let me know ASAP so I know which direction to go.**

**Also, if you all have any ideas, suggestions or anything please let me know. I need all the help and ideas I can get. Like; should some of the couples break up and/or switch around? [is there a particular pairing you wanna see?]**

**So, yeah...please, let me know, and I hope you enjoy the chapter :)**

**Disclaimer: I don't own High School Musical, or any of its characters. I simply own Julie Bolton so far.**

It was Friday night and Troy Bolton was up in his room. His parents were at a faculty function in the city for the night, giving Troy the entire house to himself. But to be honest, he was running out of things to keep himself occupied.

He had spent most of the day playing basketball with the guys before returning to his house alone, ordering pizza and stretching out in front of the TV in the den. Probably the highlight of his day was a phone call from Gabriella after dinner.

She had gone to California with her mother for two weeks to visit her grandmother. But to Troy, two weeks seemed like an eternity without his girl. Luckily she was coming home tonight and he would get to see her.

Then they all had a month to do whatever they wanted until summer ended and he and all his friends would start a major chapter in all their lives. They would become seniors. It didn't dawn on him until that moment.

'_Seniors_'.

The word repeated inside his head over and over. It was only a few months ago that he and Gabriella caused East High to break free from the status quo and star in East High's Twinkle Towne Musical. Only a few months ago that all his friends got summer jobs at Lava Springs and that he almost lost Gabriella for good.

Thinking of that night made him shudder. But all that was over now, and he and Gabriella were as strong as ever. Fortunately, Troy was pulled out of his thoughts by his phone. The only problem now was that he had to find it. He searched around his room for it; checking under cushions and pillows, his bedside table, under the covers, before finally finding it in one of his sneakers. How it got there he will never know.

"Talk to me." Troy answered.

"Hi Honey" replied the sound of his mother's voice.

"Hey Mom, how's the conference?" wondered Troy, lounging back on his bed once more.

"Oh, you know how these things are. Listen Troy, your father and I will be home tomorrow at about 2:30 but remember you have to go and pick up Julie at the airport at 2." reminded his mother. Troy grinned to himself.

"OK Mom. I won't forget." he promised. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye sweetheart." His mother said before hanging up. Troy threw his phone aside and pumped his fist in the hair. He had almost forgotten that she was coming.

Apart from the fact that he would see Gabi, Troy was also excited to see his cousin Julie. Julie's father, Sean, was Troy's father's older brother. She was an only child just like Troy, and spent every hour of their childhood together. They were like brother and sister. She lived in Albuquerque with her parents until her dad had got a new job and moved to New York when she was twelve. Troy was heart-broken.

Although they hadn't seen each other in person for nearly six years, Troy and Jules never lost contact. They emailed each other every week, updating each other with everything that was going on with their lives. Jules would tell tales of her life in New York City, while Troy would tell her how their friends were doing and how basketball was and told her all about Gabriella.

Then, as a surprise, Julie's parents were allowing her to stay with Troy and his parents for Senior Year. Troy actually fell off his bed when she called him up to tell him the good news. However, Troy decided that it would be better for him not to tell the guys about Julie coming to stay. It was going to be an awesome year.

oOoOoOoOoOo

_"Flight 366 from New York; Landed."_

Troy read aloud as he surveyed the flight list above him. He decided to stand away from both the sign and the baggage pick-up to save himself from being run over by mad tourists.

"_This is gonna be awesome"_ Troy thought to himself. "_It's been six years since I've seen Julie and I can't wait to spend some time catching up. And she's gonna finally meet Gabriella. This year is gonna be fantastic." _

Pretty soon, the terminal filled with people greeting loved ones, or searching for their luggage. Troy looked everywhere for any sign of his cousin, but so far he didn't have much luck.

"_Where could she be…I think the planes empty." _He wondered. He was about to go and check the service desk, when all of a sudden, he felt a pair of hands cover his eyes. The world had gone dark.

"What's happening Bolton?" asked a familiar voice. Troy turned around to see Julie, looking exactly the same, yet so different.

Troy smiled as he got a look at her. Her sandy blonde hair had grown much longer, now reached below her shoulders. Of course, she had grown taller, Troy knew that. He had always thought she was pretty, but she had grown beautiful over the years. Her trademark black sunglasses rested on her face like they had so many years before.

"Come here you!" cried Troy as he picked up his beloved cousin and hugged her tightly as if he would never see her again. Jules laughed as he spun her around a little.

"Wow Troy look at you." She said, as he put her back on the ground. "Still the same Troy I know and love…just taller than I remember." laughed Julie.

"Yeah, I've heard six years does that you people." Troy joked. Jules rolled her eyes and playfully shoved him.

"But, seriously Jules. You look amazing." Troy said. Jules grinned and did a little turn. Troy sighed and shook his head. His crazy cousin was definitely back. Jules turned to grab her bags when Troy noticed something.

"When did you get that?" he asked, pointing to the tiny diamante stud in her nose. Jules grinned and shrugged.

"My seventeenth." She said. "A friend of mine went with me to get it done while he got his eyebrow." Her smile soon faulted a little.

"Why? Don't you like it?" she wondered. Troy shook his head.

"No, I do. It suits you." He said as he picked her bags up and led her out to the truck.

oOoOoOoOoOo

"So what's New York like?" Troy asked. They were now on their way back to the Bolton house, after they had stopped on the way to grab a drink. Jules shrugged.

"It's alright, I guess. The initial shock and wonder of it all goes after a few years." She said.

"Really?" Troy asked. The blonde nodded.

"Yeah. I mean sure you got baseball games 24-7, Broadway shows left, right and centre but nothing compares to home. I miss you and Aunt Luce and Uncle Jack and the guys." answered Jules. "Hey speaking of which, do they know I'm coming?" she asked. Troy grinned evilly as he turned the corner.

"Nope!" he replied. "I thought it would be a cool surprise for them."

"Sneaky, Bolton, very sneaky!" said Jules with a smile. She fiddled with the straw in her drink for a moment.

"Anyway what about you? What's been happening with the great wildcat superstar lately?" she asked, taking a sip of her coke. "The last thing I heard was about the musical...which I still need to see by the way."

"Don't worry, both Mom and Chad made sure they got it on tape." Troy laughed, slightly embarrassed at the memory.

"Well, after school ended, I managed to get us all jobs at Lava Springs." He continued. Jules looked at him in complete shock.

"Lava Springs? As in _the_ Lava Springs? The incredibly huge and incredibly expensive country club? Cuz, how did you manage to get a job there?" she wondered, taking another sip from her coke.

"I was requested, actually. Turns out The Evans Family own it." said Troy. With that, Jules almost choked on her drink. She turned and looked at her cousin in disbelief.

"Evans?! As in Sharpay and Ryan Evans?" she wondered incredulously. Troy looked at her strangely but nodded.

"Yeah… Sharpay sort of had a crush on me and tried to break-up me and Gabriella but it's all cool now. We all actually get along." said Troy. "Why do you ask?"

"Oh…umm… no reason" stammered Jules, suddenly finding her drink very interesting. Troy was quiet for a moment before it finally dawned on him.

"Oh, come on Jules." Troy said. "You can't seriously think he's mad at you."

"Troy, if I didn't talk to you at all for six years, wouldn't you be mad at me? He's gonna think I didn't want to. " Jules said. "I mean, it's not like I didn't try." Troy sighed as he turned the corner.

"Did you?" he asked. Jules looked at him.

"Of course I did." She said. The rest of the car trip was a whole lot quieter.

oOoOoOoOoOo

As they pulled up in the driveway, the two saw Jack's car parked in front of them, meaning that Troy's parents were home.

Memories soon flooded back for both Troy and Jules. It was the same house with the same tree that they used to climb into at night when they couldn't sleep, with the same basketball hoop where occasionally Julie would teach Troy a lesson.

Jules breathed a sigh of relief. She was finally home. Away from the hustle and bustle of New York City. This was Albuquerque. This was home...and she missed it terribly.

Waking up on a Saturday Morning and racing over to Troy's and wake him up. The guys would come over for breakfast; well they would raid the refrigerator anyway, and then play a few games of basketball. Life was sweet.

Troy shut off the engine and the two Bolton's got out of the car. After grabbing her bags, they headed inside.

"Mom we're home." yelled Troy, putting the suitcases down by the door. Lucille ran into the hallway from the kitchen.

"Julie look at you, you're so grown up! How are you" Lucille cried hugging her niece.

"Hey Aunt Luce." Jules smiled. Lucille smiled and let go of her niece before turning her attention to her son, who was still standing by the door with the bags.

"Troy why don't you take Jules up to her room?" suggested Lucille.

"Sure Mom" answered Troy. He picked up the bags and the two teenagers headed upstairs.

When they reached the top, Troy took Jules to the spare bedroom and sat on the bed as she unpacked her things into the dresser.

"So what did you tell the guys?" asked Jules as she folded a couple of shirts into her dresser.

"Nothing really. They were coming around anyway at about 7…they do practically every night. I just forgot to mention that you would be here." Joked Troy as he stretched out onto the bed.

"Seems like things never change around here, huh?" she asked. Troy simply smiled and shrugged.

"Some things do." He said cryptically.

Once she finished unpacking Jules and Troy sat on the bed for hours just talking like they used to. They had a lot of catching up to do. After all, it had been six years.

"I can't wait to meet Gabriella." said Jules "From what you've told me about her she seems perfect for you." Troy smiled at the sound of her name.

"She really is amazing. You're gonna love her." He said, folding his arms behind his head. "She's coming over about 5-ish"

Jules couldn't help but smile. She loved Troy with all her heart and to hear that he finally found his perfect girl just made her happy. If only she could be so lucky.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Later that evening, Jules was in the Den, sitting in an armchair with her legs hanging over the side. Her glasses rested on the end of her nose as she continued reading a basketball magazine when she overheard Troy talking to someone. About 5 minutes later Troy walked in holding hands with a pretty brunette girl.

"Julie this is Gabriella" Troy introduced. "Gabi this is my cousin Julie" Jules smiled and jumped up from her chair.

"Call me Jules. It's great to meet the famous Gabriella. Troy never stops talking about you" Jules said. This made Troy blush. Gabriella laughed.

"You're the famous one I've heard so much about you." She said.

"I swear, whatever he said it's not true." laughed Jules putting her hands up in defence.

Gabriella and Jules hit it off from the start, and Troy couldn't have been more relieved. His two favourite people in the world were getting along as if they were long lost friends and that was so special to him. He didn't know what he'd do if they didn't.

A few hours later, the three were in the den talking away when the kitchen filled up with more familiar voices. Troy smiled and got up off the couch and walked to the kitchen where he found his friends.

"Hey guys." He said casually. He looked behind the three before looking at them confused "Where are the others?"

"Ryan and Sharpay will be here later. They had some kind of rehearsal." said Zeke. Troy nodded his head in understanding.

"And Taylor and Kelsi had a few things to do before they came over." added Jason. Once again, Troy nodded his head. Chad looked at him suspiciously.

"Something's up." He said. The other two rolled they eyes at him.

"What makes you say that?" Troy wondered innocently.

"Well, first of all you didn't want to play ball with us today, so that basically speaks for itself. Then you tell us that when we come over, we have to come through the front door instead of the den like always. And you're just acting really weird...therefore, something is up." Chad said.

"Don't listen to him, man." Zeke said, rolling his eyes. "He's been like this all day." Troy shrugged.

"I have no idea what he's on about." He said.

Meanwhile, Jules and Gabriella were trying their best not to laugh and give everything away. They could hear Troy trying to come up with some excuse, but it was clear that Chad still wasn't buying it. He kept thinking about what Troy could possibly be hiding down in the den.

"You're hiding something in the den." He said. It wasn't a question.

"Maybe he's hiding a girl down there." Jason joked. That was it. Jules couldn't help but laugh then. Gabriella held her hand over her mouth but the guys had already heard her. They all looked at Troy in complete shock.

"That wasn't Gabriella." Zeke said. Troy's eyes widened as he silently cursed his cousin.

"Okay, so Hoops is hiding some strange girl down in his den... are you cheating on Gabi?" Chad wondered. Troy rolled his eyes.

"Of course not!" he said. "How could you think that?"

"Then explain the girl in the basement." Chad said, crossing his arms. Troy sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well it's kinda complicated…" he started. But Chad decided to go find out for himself. He walked past Troy and headed towards the den, with Jason and Zeke following behind them. The looks on their faces were priceless.

"Well, the only weird girl down here is me." said Jules, who was now standing up in front of the chair. The three new additions started at her in complete and total shock. It took them a few moments to realize who it was.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" yelled Chad as he raced over to Jules picking her up and spinning her into an enormous hug. Jason and Zeke then in turn hugged her too, once they could pry her out of Chad's arms.

"So this is who you had down here?" Chad wondered. Troy laughed and nodded.

"It would have been a surprise too if she didn't start laughing." He said, looking at his cousin accusingly.

"Hey, I'm sorry, but that was hysterical...thinking you were cheating on Gabriella with some strange girl." She said. "Sorry, honey. But you ain't exactly my type."

"Well, they had the strange part right." Troy said. Jules stuck her tongue out at him before turning back to Chad.

"Danforth, what the hell happened to your hair?" remarked Jules, eyeing his 'fro.

"Hey don't mess with the hair!" warned Chad.

"I won't. I like it" said Jules, messing up his 'do. Chad grinned and swatted her hand away.

"This is unbelievable. When did you get here?" asked Zeke.

"This afternoon. Troy picked me up." replied Jules.

"Well, that explains why you didn't wanna play basketball." said Jason.

"So how long are you staying? Will we have time to hang out?" wondered Chad excitedly. Suddenly, Julie's smile faded as she looked to her feet.

"I'm unfortunately not staying very long." replied Jules. The boys look disheartened and all looked at their shoes. But Gabriella and Troy were trying to stifle their fit of laughter. Jules had been known to play games like that.

"I'm only staying for the entire senior year!" screamed Jules. The den them erupted with cheers and high-fives.

oOoOoOoOoOo

After Jules had caught up with everyone, Taylor and Kelsi came through the door and were introduced to Jules. A few minutes later they were followed by two figures.

**A/N: Okay, so it wasn't much of a cliffhanger...it might be too obvious, but oh well. Hope you liked it. Please REVIEW and let me know :)**


	2. How do you know?

**A/N: Hey all. Here's the second chapter. Okay, a little more info on the past is coming out here, so I hope you like it. I do need some help and ideas for suture chapters [the more i get, the faster i update], so please let me know absolutely anything. ...and Don't forget to review.... it keeps me going :) Okay, enjoy the chapter**

"You'd think that once our rehearsal pianist moved we would be able to..."

As soon as she walked in through the door, Sharpay Evans stopped dead in her tracks. She had to do a double take to realize who was standing in front of her.

"Julie, is that you?" she asked. Jules smiled weakly and nodded. This was definitely the Sharpay Evans she had known years ago. The only differences now was that her plastic pink princess heels had been traded in for pink stilettos, and the Pink Barbie handbag was now a pink Prada tote.

"Hey Shar" she said hesitantly. It wasn't that she didn't like Sharpay, she did. But she was always a very full on kind of person, and wasn't always the nicest. But from what Troy and the others had said, she had changed.

"My god it's been ages" Sharpay said hugging her. Jules laughed a little and returned the hug after a minute, they pulled away.

"Oh my gosh, it's been so long. You look fabulous!" Sharpay said. Suddenly she had an idea and ran to the doorway.

"Ryan Come here" she squeaked as she pulled her twin into the room.

"Shar, don't push me I can walk by my…" he suddenly stopped a soon as her saw Julie. At first he looked at her in disbelief. But after another moment or two, he smiled.

"Jules." He smiled as he walked over to her and hugged her tight. Jules smiled as she held on to him tightly. She had definitely missed him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked her. Jules shrugged.

"I finally decided that it was time to come home." She said. Ryan smiled and pulled her into another hug. He finally had his best friend back.

Growing up, Ryan and Jules were practically inseparable, ever since they met in pre-school. They shared a common love for music, and Jules helped Ryan come up with some pretty good hiding places away from Sharpay. It almost killed him when she had to leave.

"So, how long are you here for?" Sharpay wondered as she sat down next to Zeke.

"I'm here until a few weeks after graduation." Jules said. His face lit up instantly.

"So, you're gonna be at East High?" Ryan wondered, a little too excitedly. Jules looked up at him, surprised a little. Either she was the only one who noticed, or she had imagined his excitement. She shook her head of the thoughts and nodded.

"Yeah. Uncle Jack enrolled me last week. I just have a few more forms to fill out. Why, don't want an outsider invading your turf?" she joked.

"No, of course not. I'm just asking, is all." He said. "Besides, you're not an outsider. This is your turf too." Jules grinned and went to say something else, but her attention was pulled away by Sharpay about New York.

While she was in a deep discussion with his sister, Ryan got the chance to get a good look at her. She really looked incredible. Very different from the Julie he remembered.

He mentally kicked himself from thinking about her like that. This was Jules; his best friend. Well, used to be. How they lost touch, he couldn't remember, but it was one thing he regretted every day since.

Jules laughed at something Zeke had said and looked up to find Ryan looking at her. She glanced at him for a moment before he realized he was caught staring and they both looked away. A moment passed before Jules was game enough to look up once more.

She almost didn't recognize him at first. He had changed so much over the years. He still had a different sense of style, and his crazy obsession with hats, but that was just one of the things that made him who he was. But Jules suddenly found herself thinking something different. He had grown up a lot, and actually looked quite handsome.

Wondering where on earth that came from, Jules kicked the thoughts out of her head as she pretended to listen to what the others were talking about.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Everyone was having a great time catching up with Jules that night. But after a few hours, Julie's lack of sleep started to kick in. She yawned and began rubbing her eyes.

"You look tired, Jules." Taylor said. The blonde nodded.

"Yeah, I didn't get much sleep on the plane." She said. "If you guys don't mind, I think I might head off to bed."

"Yeah, go get some sleep." Troy said. "How about tomorrow we all can catch up more and, I don't know, play basketball maybe?" he suggested. Everyone agreed. After she said goodnight to everyone, Jules headed upstairs to bed. After she left, everyone stayed a little longer but were gone a few hours later.

Troy and Gabriella were the only two in the den now. They were lounging on the couch, just relaxing. They talked about her trip to see her grandmother and Troy told her a little more about when he and Jules were growing up.

"You're really glad she's back, aren't you?" Gabi wondered. Troy smiled and nodded his head.

"Yeah." He said. "I've missed her like crazy." Gabriella smiled and nodded her head in understanding. It was then that she remembered something that she noticed earlier that night.

"Was it just me, or was there some kind of awkwardness between Ryan and Jules?" she asked. Troy looked at her confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Well, when Ryan got here, they were alright, but before things just seemed kinda awkward." She said. Troy thought about this for a second, when finally it dawned on him.

"Of course." He said, more so to himself. Gabriella looked at her boyfriend confused.

"What?" she asked.

"Not many people know this, Jules doesn't even know that I know." he started. "You have to swear that you will not tell anyone this. Not even Taylor or Chad."

"Ok, Ok I promise" Gabi said, crossing her heart for extra emphasis.

"When we were growing up, Jules and Ryan were best friends, like practically glued at the hip." Troy said.

"Kinda like you and Chad?" Gabi wondered. Troy rolled his eyes but nodded.

"But a while later, she started seeing him differently."

"Aww! That's so cute!" Gabi said. Troy sighed.

"Can I finish?" she asked. Gabi smiled apologetically before motioning for him to continue.

"So basically she had this crush on him, and I've always thought that he liked her back." Troy said.

"Then what was the matter?" Gabriella wondered.

"When she had to move, they lost contact and never spoke to each other until tonight." Troy said.

"Wow." Gabi said, unsure of whatever else to say. Troy nodded his head.

"Yeah. So it seems like she might still fell a little something for him, but who knows?" he said. Once again, Gabi nodded her head in agreement. She was about to settle down again when she caught a glimpse of Troy's watch.

"God, it's late already." She said. "I gotta go." Troy pouted a little, but he knew she was right.

"Okay. I'll see you tomorrow?" he asked hopefully. Gabriella grinned and nodded before she placed a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Sure thing, Wildcat." She said. Troy got up and walked her to the door. He gave her a kiss on her forehead and she left.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Troy walked upstairs but instead of going to his own room, he went to Julie's. But she wasn't there. He knew exactly where she was. Silently, Troy tip-toed past his parents' room, checked if they were asleep and walked to his room. He grabbed two jumpers and a blanket, opened the window and climbed out.

Julie was sitting on the roof. The same spot they always used to sit late at night when they couldn't sleep. It became a little thing that nobody else knew about. It was something for them only. Jules couldn't remember how many times they snuck out at night and climbed up onto the roof.

"Thought I would find you here" a familiar voice said, pulling her out of her thoughts.

"You know me" she laughed quietly. Troy jumped from the tree and onto the roof and sat beside his cousin.

"Here." He said handing her a jumper. Jules smiled in thanks. She didn't even think of grabbing one before she left.

"Thanks" she replied. She put the jumper on and instantly felt warmer. The two sat their in silence as the minutes passed.

"So...care to tell me what's on your mind?" Troy asked, even if he had a pretty good idea. Julie didn't look at him. She just kept staring out at the night sky.

"You wouldn't understand" she whispered. Troy scoffed.

"You have got to be kidding!" he laughed. "Me? Not understand? Jules I understand you better that you understand yourself!" Jules said nothing. Troy sighed heavily and ran his hand through his hair.

"Is this about what happened between you and Ryan?" he asked softly. Julie looked up at him, wondering how he knew. But then again, he was Troy; he had a way of finding things out, especially about her. Jules sighed in defeat.

"That's the thing... nothing happened." She stated "I had been friends with him for so long and then I started seeing him a little differently. But before anything could happen I had to move. I don't even know if what I felt was real, or just some pre-teen crush."

"Do you still like him?" Troy wondered. His cousin was quiet for an awfully long time before she sighed, and suddenly found the sleeves of her jumper very interesting. She shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know. I mean, we were twelve. I had no idea what I was feeling, you know?" She said quietly. Troy nodded his head knowingly.

"But even if I did feel something. I don't want to mess up what we have...what we had." She said. "I don't want to ruin something like that moments after I come home."

Troy shuffled closer to her. He wrapped the blanket around the two of them then rested his hand around her waist and she laid her head on his shoulder.

"How do you know he didn't like you back?" he asked. "Better yet...how do you know he doesn't like you now?"

"Yeah right." She laughed.

"Well you never know" Troy replied giving her a kiss on the top of her head. Jules smiled to herself. She really missed this.

"Yeah I guess." she mumbled. Troy grinned.

"And remember, you'll always have me" he insisted. Jules smiled.

"Yeah Troy." she yawned as she closed her eyes. "I'll always have you."

Underneath the stars in the sky, the two Bolton's fell asleep on the roof, just like they had so many times before.


	3. Afternoon Basketball

**A/N: Hi all :) I'm here with another update! If you all read the previous version of this story, please check it out again, cause I really need some help, and a know that there was a fair few people who liked it before. So, yeah...I hope a you all enjoy this chapter and if you have any ideas for future chapters [what you want to see happen, pairing suggestions, etc.] please don't hesitate to let me know.**

**Okay, on with this chapter.**

The next morning Jules woke up to a cool breeze. She lifted her head off its resting place, which happened to be Troy's stomach, and looked around. After she finally woke up a little, she was shocked to find they were still on the roof.

"Troy! Wake Up!" she cried, shaking his shoulder gently. But the only response she got was a groan and a swat of Troy's hand. Jules tried again, shaking him a little harder this time. When she received no other response, she shoved him as hard as she could.

"OUCH! What was that for?" Troy wailed rubbing the back of his head. Jules rolled her eyes and looked at her watch.

"Its 6:45" she exclaimed. Troy looked at her confused; it was obvious he still wasn't grasping the situation at all. Jules sighed in annoyance.

"We've been out here all night. Your parents are gonna kill us!" she said. Troy's eyes widened. He helped her up to her feet and the two packed up their camp, climbed through Troy's window and headed into their rooms. They had just crawled into their beds just in time to hear Lucille calling them.

"Troy! Julie! Get up, breakfast is ready." She called out.

Once they got dressed, Troy and Jules headed downstairs, where the adults were already waiting for them. Lucille was at the stove making breakfast and Jack was sitting at the table reading the newspaper.

"Morning Kids" smiled Jack as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Morning Dad" replied Troy.

"Morning Uncle Jack" replied Jules. She sat down at the table while Troy grabbed the sports pages from his father's paper and pulled up a seat next to his cousin so they both could read.

"So how did you kids sleep?" asked Jack, looking at his now slightly thinner newspaper.

"Great thanks Uncle Jack." answered Jules.

"You know it's funny. I swear I heard some strange noises coming from the roof last night." said Lucille placing a plate of toast on the table.

Troy and Jules suddenly looked at one another before each picking up a piece of toast. As if on queue, Chad walked into the kitchen.

"Morning everyone" he beamed, high-fiving Troy and stealing his piece of toast.

"I see things never change." laughed Jules. "Chad still invites himself over for breakfast."

"Hey you can't talk!" Chad protested, pointing a piece of toast at her accusingly. "You used to do it too!"

"Yeah but I'm family. Well immediate family…Chad you're additional family." said Jules.

"Touché" replied Chad in defeat as he sat down. Troy had to laugh.

"Dude you're meant to stick up for me!" said Chad.

"Sorry Buddy, you're on your own!" laughed Troy. Chad rolled his eyes at his best friend.

"Hey Aunt Luce, have you got any cereal?" Jules asked.

"I think we have some Captain Crunch in the cupboard." Lucille said. Julie's eyes lit up as she jumped out of her chair and raced to the cupboard.

"Okay, so what's on for today?" she asked, bringing the cereal and milk over to the table.

"Some ball in the backyard?" Troy wondered. "About, say a bit before lunch?"

"Sounds like a plan." Chad said. He got his phone out of his pocket and sent a mass text to everyone telling them what time to come over.

They all finished their breakfast before the three teens headed upstairs into Troy's room. As soon as they reached the room, Jules collapsed on her cousin's bed.

"You're really that tired?" Chad wondered, stretching out on the bed next to her. Jules didn't open her eyes but nodded her head.

"we were out on the roof all night." She yawned. Out of all their friends, Chad was the only other who knew their secret place on the roof.

"All night?" he asked disbelievingly. Troy nodded.

"Yeah, Jules headed up there after she left the den and we were out there til before seven this morning." He said.

"Wow." Chad said. "You guys are insane."

Troy was about to respond but he held a finger to his lips to silence his best friend. Chad looked at him in confusion. Troy rolled his eyes and pointed to the bed. Chad followed his gaze and saw that Jules was fast asleep beside him.

The two shook their heads and laughed silently as they headed out of the room, letting her sleep.

oOoOoOoOoOo

When she awoke from her re-energising sleep, Jules got up and got ready for when the others came over. Troy and Chad were downstairs in the den playing video games so she decided to go and get dressed.

After searching through her clothes and bags, Jules finally found her blue swimsuit and her shorts in the midst of what looked like a million different clothes. Jules then pulled her messy blonde hair into a ponytail on top of her head.

Grabbing her towel and sun lotion, Jules pushed her sunglasses down over her eyes and headed down stairs.

The others were already outside when she got there. Deck chairs had been arranged in a line on the lawn for the girls to sunbake. The other girls had already claimed chairs, but there was one that stood out the most.

A large pink monogrammed towel covered one of the chairs with about twenty magazines resting beside it, so it was clear where Sharpay was preparing to sit.

"Hey guys." She said, waving to everyone. Sharpay looked up and sighed dramatically.

"Took you long enough." Sharpay said. Jules honestly thought she was going to be blinded by the amount of pink her friend was wearing...more than usual. Jules simply shrugged her shoulders.

"Blame my bathing suit for hiding from me." She laughed. Troy and Chad then came outside carrying a cooler full of drinks for them. Jules unfolded her towel and sat down on an empty chair by the end. She sat down and turned to Ryan, who was sitting on the grass by the chair with his iPod.

"I didn't take _that_ long did I?" she asked. Ryan laughed.

"You know how she is." He said. Jules laughed and rested back on her chair. Ryan couldn't help looking at her. She looked amazing in her bathing suit. But instantly, he shoved those thoughts aside.

He had no idea what was going on. How could he be thinking things like that about her? This was Jules. His best friend. It wasn't right. He shook his head free of the thoughts as he turned his attention back to his music.

The guys then started up a game of basketball. Troy, Chad, Jason and Zeke were playing while the girls were sitting in deck chairs in their bathing suits and shorts, soaking up the sun. Or that's what they were meant to be doing but they were actually just perving on the guys playing ball shirtless. The upside was they were wearing sunglasses so they guys couldn't tell.

"Dude what is with you today?" laughed Troy after once again kicking Chad's butt. His friend scowled at him before grinning wickedly.

"I got an idea." said Chad.

"For once!" Sharpay shouted out.

"Shut up!" Chad retorted.

"What's your idea?" Troy interrupted, stopping yet another fight between the two.

"I wanna see if Jules is still able to whip your butt at ball!" Chad said. Jules, who was in the middle of a conversation with Gabriella, looked up after hearing the wager.

"You better believe it Danforth!" she yelled from her deck chair. If there was one way to describe Julie Bolton, it was competitive, especially when it came to her cousin.

"I'd like to see that!" said Troy. Jules pulled her sunglasses down her nose and smiled sweetly.

"I really don't wanna embarrass you cuz." she said, lying back down. Troy rolled his eyes and started making chicken noises. Jules sat up instantly and scowled at her cousin. Sighing dramatically, she tossed her magazine aside and got out of her chair.

"Fine. But don't come crying to me when I stomp you in front of our friends and Gabriella breaks up with you cause you're not manly enough." she laughed. The guys went and sat down to watch the show.

"Ryan, can you keep score?" She asked. Ryan gave her a thumbs up.

"You got it." He said.

"Ten bucks says Troy kicks her butt." Jason said to Chad.

"I don't know man she's good…make it Twenty." said Chad.

Troy threw her the ball. Jules just stood there spinning the ball on her fingers for a moment, looking quite bored. Troy ran straight at her, but when he was just a few inches away, Jules turned in the other direction, ran and shot a goal. The spectators laughed. Jules pulled down her sunnies again and winked at everyone.

"Ok no more funny stuff." said Troy. He ran up to the hoop and attempted a goal but Jules knocked the ball out of his hands and shot another one.

This basically went on for a good 10 minutes. The guys just sat there, their mouths dropped to the floor as they watched "Troy the Basketball Boy" get beat by his little cousin.

"Feel free to give up Bolton." offered Jules. Troy shook his head fervently.

"Not in your life Bolton." He said. Jules shrugged her shoulders.

"I gave you a chance, whatever." she said as she shot yet another point. Their friends cheered once again.

"Score Check Ry?" Jules asked.

"Troy 10 Jules 16" said Ryan. Troy sighed in annoyance and fell to the ground in defeat. Jules walked over and put her foot on his chest. The backyard erupted in applause and chanting 'All Hail Queen Jules'.

"You owe me twenty bucks" said Chad, holding out his hand expectantly. Jason sighed and pulled out his wallet.

oOoOoOoOoOo

The gang had a fun afternoon, with the exception of Troy who kept sulking over the loss against Jules. Chad ended up kicking Troy off his deck chair and started to doze off, resting one of the girl's magazine's over his eyes.

"I've just had the most awesome idea." said Sharpay. The others stopped what they were doing in order to listen.

"If it's got anything to do with shopping, manicures or pink count me out!" said Chad, moving the magazine from his eyes. Sharpay rolled her eyes and ignored him.

"Why don't we have a slumber party tonight at our house?" she suggested.

"That's actually not a bad Idea." said Gabriella. The others agreed. Jules shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm in if its ok with Shaq over there and his parents." She said, nodding to Troy. Sharpay smiled brightly.

"Fabulous. So say everyone come by about seven. Bring snacks or movies or what ever you want." said Sharpay.

oOoOoOoOoOo

Once everyone left at about Five, Troy and Jules went inside. Troy went to have a shower so Jules went to ask permission to go to the Evans' house. She found her aunt in the kitchen baking cookies.

"Hey Aunt Luce can I ask you a favour." asked Jules, sitting up on the counter.

"Sure sweetie."

"Shar and Ryan invited everyone to go to their house for the night can we go?" Jules asked

"Of course." said Lucille.

"Thanks." replied Jules. she jumped off the counter and took one of the boiling hot cookies in her hand and ran upstairs to get ready.


	4. At the Evans house

**A/N: Hello all :) Here's another chapter for you all. I hope you enjoy it. I'm sorry I haven't updated sooner, I was really struggling for ideas for this story. If you all have any ideas or suggestions, please let me know. Things like info about Julie's past with the guys, or pairings you wanna see...anything at all.**

**Also, there's a picture of Julie's awesome glasses in my profile under 'Back Home to Stay'. Like I said, hope you enjoy and please remember to REVIEW, cause that's basically what's keeping me going. **

**Disclaimer: Obviously, I don't own High School Musical, or its characters. I do, however, own Julie Bolton.**

Jules ran up to her room and started getting ready immediately. She grabbed an empty bag and threw it on her bag before grabbing some clothes. After getting out of her bathing suit, Jules found her black jeans and slipped them on before grabbing her blue tank top off her desk chair.

Packing her clothes into her bag, Jules grabbed her pyjamas and toiletry bag and packed them in, grabbed her pillow and put them by her door. The others had left only a little while ago and she was pretty sure that Troy wasn't ready yet. So, to help pass the time faster, Jules decided to send an email to her friends in New York.

She grabbed her glasses from her bedside table and put them on, ignoring the fact that she knew she was going to get some kind of crap about it from Troy later. But she didn't care. They were the damn near coolest glasses she had ever seen. They were black with white music notes on the sides. A gift from her Dad to cheer her up when she found out she needed them.

She sat down at her desk and typed out a few emails to her friends. She decided to send one to her Dad, knowing that he would be checking his emails constantly for a message from her.

When she was done, Jules thought that was more than enough time for Troy to get ready. She pulled her sandy blonde hair into a ponytail, grabbed her favourite jacket and went to hurry Troy.

"Are you ready yet?" She wondered, leaning in his doorway. Troy sighed as he was looking under his bed for something.

"Will you calm down?" he asked. "We'll get there soon." Jules groaned in frustration as she leaned back against the door. Finally, Troy emerged from under his bed holding a scrunched up shirt.

"I knew it was hiding under there." He said, more to himself. Jules rolled her eyes.

"You are such a guy." She said. Troy looked up at her, ready with a comeback when he noticed her glasses.

"Since when do you wear glasses?" he asked. Jules shrugged.

"I got them when I was thirteen." She said. Troy nodded.

"Well, they make you look like a nerd." He said jokingly. Jules scowled at him and threw a pillow at him. Troy managed to duck and seek refuge under his bed. Jules rolled her eyes and checked her watch; _7:15._

"Come on, we gotta go." She said. Troy got up off the floor and finished packing his bag. The two of them grabbed their things and headed downstairs. Lucille was serving up dinner for her and Jack.

"You two heading off then?" she asked. The two teens nodded.

"Yeah, we're going to pick up Gabriella then head over to Ryan and Sharpay's." Troy said.

"Alright, well you two have fun." Lucille said. Jules smiled.

"We will, Aunt Luce." She said. she glanced around the kitchen. "Where's Uncle Jack?"

"I'm sure he's around here somewhere." Lucille said, sending a knowing look to her son. Troy smiled subtly. The two said goodbye and headed out to the truck. After they put their things in the back, they were on their way. They drove a couple of blocks to Gabriella's house.

"I'll be back in a second." He said, getting out of the car. Jules nodded and drummed her fingers on the dashboard while she waited. Pretty soon, Troy and Gabriella came outside. They put her bags in the back and climbed into the truck.

"Hey Jules." Gabriella said as she got into the truck. Jules smiled brightly.

"Hey Gabi. What's crackalacking?" she asked, Gabi could only laugh. Troy sighed.

"Don't worry, you get used to it...eventually." he said. The girls grinned and began a conversation as Troy started the truck.

"I didn't know you wore glasses." said Gabi.

"Yeah. Although, I can see perfectly fine without them, so don't have to wear them much. It's mostly when reading and in school usually." Answered Jules. Gabi nodded in understanding. Jules took her glasses off and put on her trademark black sunglasses.

As soon as they got there, the girls jumped out of the truck and grabbed their bags out of the truck before running up to the front of the house. They rang the doorbell and after a moment, Ryan answered the door.

"Hey Guys." He smiled.

"Hey Ryan." The three said. Ryan opened the door wider and let them in.

"Everyone's upstairs in Sharpay's room." He said. Gabi nodded and took Julie's hand before pulling her away. Jules turned and looked at Ryan before running upstairs with her friend. Ryan sighed to himself before helping Troy with the bags. Troy sent his friend a knowing look.

"What?" Ryan asked. But Troy said nothing. He just grabbed a couple of bags and headed upstairs.

When the girls made it upstairs, they found everyone in Shar's room like Ryan said. Sharpay, Taylor and Kelsi were reading magazines and the guys were lying on their stomaches on the floor, watching what appeared to be an episode of Jackass. Jules put her bag down and changed back into her other glasses. She said a silent hello to the girls before laughing at the guys. They were so into the episode that they didn't even notice the two walk into the room and Jules come lie down beside Chad.

"Oh, is this the one when Bam puts a gator in his parent's house?" she asked. All three guys jumped in fright at her sudden appearance. Jules couldn't help but laugh.

"When the hell did you get here?" Jason asked. Jules shrugged.

"Wouldn't you like to know." She teased. Jason looked at her, completely clueless.

"Umm...yeah, that's why I asked." He said, sounding pretty unsure of the question. The guys rolled their eyes and sighed. Jules snorted a little and got up. Just to be annoying, she decided to sit on Chad's back.

"Comfortable there, four-eyes?" he asked, looking up at her. Jules nodded.

"Quite. And it's MISS four-eyes to you." She said, flicking the end of his nose. Chad groaned in frustration and tried to swat her hand away.

"Where's Troy?" asked Taylor.

"Right here." said Troy as he and Ryan appeared in the doorway. He had a frustrated look on his face because both Jules and Gabriella had gone so fast that they had left all their bags for him to take up the huge flight of stairs.

"I'm not a bellboy you know!" he said sounding annoyed. Everyone just laughed at him. He rolled his eyes and pulled the bags into the far corner of the room.

"So, now that everyone is here, what should we do for dinner?" asked Sharpay. At the mention of food, Chad sat up immediately, throwing Jules off his back and onto the ground with a thud.

"Lousy son of a..." Jules mumbled, rubbing her back. Chad smirked at her before turning his attention back to the others.

"What about pizza?" he suggested. There were mixed replies.

"I really don't think I could stand that much grease tonight." Taylor said.

"Well, why don't we make pizzas?" suggested Ryan. "It's so much nicer and less grease."

"I vote homemade pizza." Jules said, shooting her hand up into the air.

"I vote Jules going to make it." Troy said, mimicking her actions.

"I'll second that!" Chad said, doing the same. Jules looked at her boys in shock.

"Why me?" she asked.

"Bags." Troy said simply.

"Back." Chad said. Jules sighed in frustration. They were doing it as payback. Sighing rather loudly and overdramatically, Jules got up off the floor and headed towards the bedroom door.

"I'll give you a hand." Ryan said, getting up from his place on the bed. Jules smiled weakly and nodded before heading downstairs. The two were silent as they made their way down to the kitchen. When they got there, Ryan got all the ingredients out of the fridge and the cupboard.

Jules stared blankly at the countertop. The silence was killing her. The awkward moment felt like it was eating away at her. It never used to be like this. She never thought it possible to be like this.

"Jules." He said suddenly, pulling her out of her reverie. Jules looked up and noticed that he had everything ready for the pizzas.

"Oh." She said. She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose and started chopping up ingredients. Ryan sighed quietly to himself. It shouldn't be like this. It had been six long years since they had a proper conversation.

"We really haven't had a chance to catch up since you got here have we?" he said, finally deciding to break the silence. Jules looked up at him and smile weakly.

"No I guess we haven't." She said softly. Once again the silence filled the room as the two made the pizzas for dinner.

"So...I hear things have changed a bit while I was gone." Jules said, breaking the silence. Ryan chuckled and nodded.

"Yeah. We all get along so much better, like we used to when we were little." He said.

"Even Sharpay?" Jules wondered. Ryan smiled and nodded.

"Even Sharpay." He said. "Much less of an ice queen than before, as the basketball team affectionately dubbed her freshman year."

"Sounds like them." Jules said, rolling her eyes. "And what about you?"

"Me?" Ryan wondered. Jules nodded

"Have...have you changed?" she asked. Ran smiled a little.

"I don't think I have. I mean, I still love to dance. Still love hats." He said, tipping his hat a little. Jules smiled.

"It's good to know that you haven't changed after all this time." She said sadly.

"I don't think you have either." He said. Jules looked up at him.

"Really?" she asked. Ryan shook his head.

"Still my amazing and slightly insane best friend." He said. Jules couldn't help but feel a little saddened at that last bit. She simply smiled and finished up decorating the pizzas.

"So...how was New York?" asked Ryan. Jules shrugged as she put the pizzas on a tray and into the oven.

"Very different from New Mexico." She said. "I went to a pretty good school, made some new friends...although nobody could replace you all." Ryan smiled. At least she didn't forget about them.

"Living there only fuelled my love of musicals." Jules said, laughing softly. "I would drag my dad or some of my friends there at least once a month. I saw pretty much everything at least once."

"So I guess you didn't really miss here much?" Ryan wondered softly, sitting up on the countertop. Jules looked up at him.

"Ryan...Of course I did." I missed everything about this place. I mean, it's my home. Everything and everyone I love is here." She said. Ryan smiled weakly.

"Moving to New York was one a great thing for me." Jules said. "But it didn't come without heartache." Ryan looked at her confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked. Jules drew a shaky breath. Ryan could see that something was hurting her. He jumped off the counter and stood beside her. He put his hand on hers reassuringly. Jules looked up at him; tears threatening to fall from her eyes.

"Things have happened." She said cryptically. "Good and bad. And I still feel so guilty." She said.

"About what?" Ryan wondered. Jules shrugged.

"Everything...nothing...what happened here? Not talking to you..." she said. Ryan sighed and tried to calm her down. He took her hand and squeezed it.

"Listen to me...don't get all upset now, I don't think I could stand that." He said. Jules sighed and nodded. Ryan was about to say continue when a voice was heard from upstairs.

"GUYS WHERE ARE THE PIZZAS? CHAD'S GETTING SO HUNGRY THAT HE TRIED TO EAT JASON'S ARM!" screamed Troy.

"I DID NOT!" protested Chad. Julie sighed and moved away from Ryan to get the food out of the oven. She placed it on the counter and was about to serve it up when Ryan stopped her.

"Listen. Tonight, when everyone's asleep, we'll talk. Just the two of us, okay?" he asked Jules said nothing but nodded. The two served the pizzas and carried them upstairs.

"Ok we got Margarita, Hawaiian, Chicken, and Meat lovers. Get 'em while their hot." said Ryan. They all grabbed a piece...except for Chad...he grabbed three!

Jules felt a little better, and was determined to be back to her usual bubbly self and not spoil the rest of the night.


End file.
